


You Won't Escape Me ('Cause I'll Set You Free)

by DarkMage13



Series: Reylo Short Stories [15]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Consensual Sex, Dubious kissing, Eventual Smut, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Gift Giving, Happy/Open ending, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, No Pregnancy, Oral Sex, Post-TLJ, Rey and Ben are idiots what else is new, Rey doesn't buy Kylo's nonsense, Sharing Body Heat, Snark, TROS? what TROS, Vaginal Sex, semi canon divergent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:08:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29229765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkMage13/pseuds/DarkMage13
Summary: “W-What are you doing?” She would have been more irritated if she wasn’t shivering.Kylo rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to let hypothermia kill you.”“S-Stripping me is not going to kill me? That makes n-no sense.”Rey needs a kyber crystal and Kylo is trying to prevent her from getting into more life-threatening situations. It's definitelynotbecause he cares about her. Nope.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Reylo Short Stories [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2055783
Comments: 14
Kudos: 123
Collections: To Find Your Kiss: The Reylo Fanfiction Anthology's Valentine's Day Exchange





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DoorKeeper9](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoorKeeper9/gifts).



> This was the combination of two prompts (sorta). 
> 
> The first prompt was "canonverse, force bond connects them while one of them is at a low moment, or wounded during a mission, or crash landed on a deserted planet. Then you get that moment of "I hope you d- Oh, wait, you're hurting? Let me FLY ACROSS THE GALAXY to help you!"
> 
> The second one inspired most of the second chapter in a way. "Hurt/comfort fluff (canonverse or AU) where one of them is having a shitty time of it and the other elaborately manages to deliver some kind of meaningful present to the other. Bonus if normally their relationship is antagonistic."
> 
> I hope you like this hurt/comfort fluff with some snark and antagonism haha.

Silence echoed in Rey's ears.

The twist of the bolt on the lightsaber in her grip was so abrupt and imbued with strength she snapped the tool in half at the neck. Irritation prickled at the back of her neck.

Her mouth opened to utter the usual monotone words she always spouted whenever the world got quiet around her and a burning presence stood nearby. By some divine torment to her still-deeply wounded heart, the Force remained relentless in its staunch bond between her and  _ him. _

The fairness of this situation, of this part of her life, was non-existent. A connection so cursed she wondered if it was better to be a scavenger on Jakku, wasting away time for a family long dead and forgotten. She counted her blessings every time the bond opened. The Resistance, while not a family per se, still offered her comfort and some humor.

But, she couldn’t offer more than slight smiles and dishonesty. 

“I don’t want to talk.” Rey tossed aside the broken tool, reaching for her satchel to place the pieces of a staff-lightsaber inside until she could get a replacement.

“Not like you would listen anyway,” Kylo Ren responded, his voice dripping with dryness.

“What else is there to listen to? You made your choice, I made mine.” Rey stood up, cracking and snapping her joints back into place. “You’re my enemy.”

Another ringing silence before he answered from behind her. “I suppose you are my enemy too.”

Rey should have had relief and blessed happiness when the bond closed, but the sting of their now-renewed antagonism cut into her soul. Regardless of whether she approved of his status as Supreme Leader or not—she didn’t—he was a part of her in such a way that it was always a stab to her heart when they separated. She hated being trapped in a room away from him when she knew he could be right there.

Blinking back the usual tears she came to expect after every single one of their Force-bond moments, Rey left her broom closet of a room in the old rebel base, snapped wrench in her hand.

She found Rose Tico working on a mossed over X-Wing from the days of the Empire. She was brushing the vines and leaves from the jungle out of the way of a side panel. Her gloved fingers pried it open with a plier.

“Rose?” Rey caught her attention, presenting the broken wrench in her hands. 

Rose turned around and her brows tightened into a fine line at the sight before her. “Again?”

Rey shrugged, apologetic in her dour expression. “Creating a lightsaber by myself isn’t exactly easy. There are no guides.”

“Not with the Jedi Killer destroying all of them,” Rose said, taking the tool from Rey’s hand and giving her a spare wrench.

Rey said nothing. She couldn’t say anything even if she wanted to. Containing her secret or throwing more hatred for the man she doesn’t hate; neither one was an option.

In the mess hall that evening, Rey poked at her food. She was usually quiet, only chipping into the conversation once in a while, but her silence was noticed by everyone, especially Finn, sitting next to her.

“You okay, Rey?” Finn asked.

“No, I’m not.” Rey put down her fork. “My lightsaber is not coming along and I keep breaking the tools…” She conveniently omitted the part where half of her breaking and unnecessary excessive usage of force came from being tied to the second most hated man in the galaxy. Second, only because she despised his lieutenant-general even more.

“Do you have a kyber yet?” Finn suggested. “Maybe you need to have it to test what you have. They use kyber crystals right?”

She nodded. “Haven’t had time to get off this base to go look for one.”

Finn placed a hand on her arm. “Well, the First Order has no idea we’re here. Poe told me it looks safe to leave for supply runs. Maybe Leia can spare you a shuttle if the  _ Falcon _ is too, uh, infamous.”

The implications and trouble that taking the  _ Falcon _ into possible First Order territory were left hanging in the air.

“I will consider it then.” To Rey, she and Leia had a silent understanding about the Supreme Leader.

But of course, she reminded herself, she shouldn’t care about whatever the hell Kylo Ren does. If he wants to rule the galaxy, then fine. She wouldn’t stop him from doing what he—with self-delusion—thinks will help him. The spiral of self-destruction can spin on and on.

“Thank you,” Rey muttered, just loud enough for Finn to hear. 

Finn grinned from ear to ear. “You’re my best friend, Rey. If something is bugging you, please tell me.”

Her lips curled up into a warm grin, but her eyes remained the same. Untouched. She hoped Finn didn’t notice.

Later on, in the meeting room where the remaining Resistance leadership would gather, Poe pointed out on the giant hologram of a map various systems and planets with reports of kyber crystals in the past ten years.

“This one,” Poe honed in on a white planet with grey clouds, “is not in First Order territory. Technically it’s the safest option.”

“Technically?” Rey would take the First Order option if only to mock Kylo Ren in some small way. 

Finn, standing at her side, winced at the planet. “The First Order deemed it too dangerous to care. Hurricanes of snow rage on in that place. They went with Illum for Starkiller Base instead.”

Rey frowned. “Then what about one in First Order territory?”

“Rey—” Of course Poe would protest. The man was insistent on being overprotective with everyone, and that included Rey. She bristled at being told no, specifically by him. Hot-blooded, reckless flyboy. “We might not be able to go into First Order territory. Didn’t you hear about the bounty on your head?”

Her lips tightened into a line and she gripped the table, her hackles rising. “Excuse me? What bounty?”

Poe raised his hands, not wanting to be shot or have a chair thrown via the Force. “The First Order wants you captured, alive. For a pretty price. More than a million credits.”

“ _ Only _ more than a million credits,” Rey snorted. “Bribe me with a million portions and I might just go turn myself in.”

Poe frowned. “We don’t need our biggest symbol for the Resistance getting tortured at the hands of the First Order.”

“Oh is  _ that _ why you won’t let me go into First Order territory? Despite that, I can take care of myself?” Rey rolled her eyes. 

“We don’t need unnecessary loss, Rey.”

Finn placed a hand on her shoulder. “Rey, he just wants to protect you.”

Rey took a deep breath. “I know you all want to protect me,” she said, her tone calmer. “But if I killed Snoke, then I can hold my own against the likes of Kylo Ren and whatever sad bounty hunters he sends after me.”

Rey knew that traveling to the planet might cause more trouble for the Resistance, but the reward of the crystal outweighed the risk. For reasons she won’t admit to. “I will go to that planet myself. Out of the First Order’s reach. I shouldn’t take more than a couple days.”

“Rey—” Finn opened his mouth to protest.

“Finn, it’s fine. It’s just a bit of cold. I have the Force. I will be fine.”

Poe nodded, placated for now. “We’ll clear for you to get a ship for Ajan Frigus. Be sure to dress warmly.”

Rey shuddered, dreading the impending chill. She remembered the freezing atmosphere on Starkiller, yet she had still been hot from her running and avoiding slices of Kylo’s volatile saber…

That night, she packed a bag with her lightsaber pieces. The Jedi tomes were still stored on the  _ Falcon _ , but she did grab one tome about kyber crystals from the collection to take with her. She also grabbed the ruined kyber from the legacy saber, shoving the memory of what had transpired in the  _ Supremacy’s _ throne room to the back of her mind.

Climbing into the old X-Wing Rose worked on earlier, she left without telling Poe of her departure. She didn’t need help on this mission. She needed to be alone.

As if she wasn’t alone already.

The planet of Ajan Frigus was pure white littered with storm clouds. One side had a hurricane swirling through, the eye visible from her X-Wing. She scanned the planet, using the broken kyber to trace similar energies. A mountain just out of the reach of the hurricane beeped on her radar.

Landing on the other side of the mountain, Rey stepped out in her thick coat and boots, shivering already.  _ Kriff,  _ she thought.  _ Definitely not the desert. _

She trailed around the mountain in the flat open field, glancing at the hurricane in the distance. Thunder shook the clouds. Rey shuddered; how such a cold phenomenon could even have lightning?

Rey walked up north, walking past a large boulder to be greeted by a cave. Rey held up her glow stick and readjusted the straps on her pack before proceeding into the ice.

Rey heard something sing.

A low, warm tune called to her in the Force. She crouched down, sliding down a steep, slick hill. The temperature dropped the more she proceeded in the darkness until the light of her glowstick danced around the curved walls of the cavern. She found herself in a giant cluster of kyber crystals. The Force was so potent and melodious, it put her at ease. She relaxed, looking around for any that might suit her.

Staring at the ceiling, she didn’t notice the small creek running through the ice.

Her foot was chilled first, then her knee, then her waist, and most of her torso.

Rey scrambled to grip the jagged ice on the floor. Her teeth chattered even more so than usual, and she was going to freeze if she didn’t get out of the creek at that moment.

Crawling out of the creek, she leaned herself against the wall. Her garments were wet. So was the bottom of her sack. She reached into it with shaking hands.

She was terrified. She was used to heatstrokes and dehydration in Jakku’sdry, arid climate, but being so cold as to inch towards death was unfamiliar and too new. She had no idea how else to deal with it. A chill settled into her lower spine as her toes went numb and her fingers followed suit.

The Force bond opened.

* * *

Kylo wondered how many times he would be tortured by  _ her _ presence in the Force.

The logistics of the bond eluded him; why the Force connected them, why it continued to do so despite the lies Snoke told. It took some time to realize that Snoke was lying, trying to corrupt this once beautiful, wonderful thing between him and Rey. It drove Kylo mad. Now the bond was a nuisance. An irritation prickling at his mind constantly. Every time it opened, Kylo could feel her. Her anger. Her loathing. A once-wondrous thing reduced to nothing more than a curse. She had rejected him; rejected their connection. Feeling her disappointment over and over, despite his inability to return home, stung, bile bubbled in his throat every time he thought about it.

Now, when he felt the bond connect them again, a mere twelve hours later after the previous encounter, he swallowed, expecting some biting remark.

It never came, but an overwhelming chill sunk into his bones. He wasn’t cold, but he was sluggish in his calves, his hips, his fingers.

“I know what you’re going to say, so don’t say it,” Kylo said, knowing not hearing her voice was worse than hearing it.

“Wouldn’t… Dream of not… Speaking…” Her teeth chittered and her words stuttered.

Kylo whirled around and caught sight of her, huddled on the ground, her pants and her boots soaked. She trembled as she dug a blanket out of her bag.

An overwhelming sense of protectiveness, of fear for her safety, startled him. “Where are you? Trying to get yourself killed by hypothermia?”

“N-No,” she mumbled. “F-For your information… I-I’m looking for a k-kyber.”

“And dying while doing it. Perfect little Jedi,” Kylo snarked to conceal his worry. Her chittering continued and he didn’t see any of the lovely flush usually gracing her freckled cheeks. It made his heart stop for a moment.

It should be easier to just not care. He  _ didn’t _ care. 

“I d-didn’t ask for your o-opinion.”

He strolled over to her, getting down on his knees in his quarters. He examined her clothes. The dampness of the fabric would increase the likelihood of her getting sick or worse. 

He reached for her boots and she tugged her foot away.

“W-What are you doing?” She would have been more irritated if she wasn’t shivering.

Kylo rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to let hypothermia kill you.”

“S-Stripping me is not going to kill me? That makes n-no sense.”

Kylo grabbed her foot, ignoring the sound of protest from her lips. He avoided answering her query, choosing to grab her blanket and his blankets, He stripped off her soaking boots and pants and even her thick coat. She continued to protest, her mind wide open to his.

_ Stop trying to take my clothes off, you wanker. _

Wrapping her in the blankets, Kylo reached for his cape and collar, undoing the buttons and clasps. 

_ I cannot share body heat if there’s a barrier in the way. _

Down to just his shirt, he wrapped his cape around her and pulled her into his arms. She was pliant and willing. It didn’t mean anything, Kylo reminded himself. Just for survival. She was down to just her usual wraps, untouched by the water she took a brief dip in.

_ Why are you naked then? _

She wasn’t hugging him; she was just tolerating him holding her, arms tucked to her sides against his chest, fists clenched. It meant nothing to her.

Her shivering slowed. Kylo took a moment to inhale her scent. She smelled of a fresh river and metal, colliding together into something that was uniquely hers. Her hair was still halfway down, a style he once appreciated, for it made it easier to stroke his fingers through the strands.

Her well-being and her silky hair and lovely freckles he certainly didn’t care about.

She was asleep, limp against his shoulder.

The Force ended their bond.

Kylo felt like someone just socked him in the gut. 

She was asleep, on a cold, cold planet. She was wrapped up in blankets but her clothes were still wet. Rey was going to die, one way or another. All because she needed a kyber crystal for the lightsaber she was no doubt constructing.

Without delay, Kylo left his quarters, found the first unsuspecting fool in a First Order uniform, and ordered his ship be prepared. He went to the meeting room with its giant holographic map of the galaxy in the center of the black, rounded table. He scanned the planets outside of the First Order territories for something with frigid cold climates. One, in particular, had been recorded for kyber energies, in the Ajan system. It had to be where she was. His instincts, either pushed by his intuition or the Force, told him so. It was a few hours by lightspeed.

With no time to waste, he loaded the coordinates to a chip. He ordered supplies to stock his TIE Silencer, and he brushed off General Hux’s questions and demands. Kylo put his Knight of Ren, Khara, in charge until he returned from his excursion to investigate kyber crystals.

Kylo climbed aboard his ship and settled in before taking off. He couldn’t halt the jitter in his knee as he sat at lightspeed. He was never this restless, nor anxious, in years. Perhaps the flinching he did in the presence of Snoke and knowing what was coming left no energy for anxiety. But Kylo, for reasons he couldn’t comprehend, had the anxiety bubble in his stomach. The same fear he had as he watched Rey be tortured. The same outrage in his throat when Snoke ordered him to turn his lightsaber on her.

Kylo’s mind drifted to the memory of Rey calling out to his lightsaber, his kyber crystal, and how it sang and listened to her. She looked so fierce, so powerful, holding his ignited saber. The flush of her skin and her gritted teeth was beautiful in comparison to the image of her freezing, frail and weak. 

He willed himself to control his arousal at the memory. He didn’t care about that anymore. It was all for naught. It didn’t  _ matter. _

Observing the planet’s surface, he saw a massive hurricane raging over the pure white, snowy landscape. Bringing his ship into the atmosphere, he searched for any signs on his radar of any indicators of Rey. Eventually, he found an X-Wing at the base of a stretching mountain range. Landing his Silencer, Kylo hauled the supplies off his ship, covering himself in his cowl and his cold-resistant cape and leather gloves. He dragged the supplies on a slider, reaching out in the Force to open the bond more willingly. He could feel her not too far into the mountain, finding a cavern opening.

Perhaps he should have brought a small squadron, but letting Hux discover the real reason he was here was a recipe for being called weak and a possible coup was not in Kylo’s plans.

He was careful to navigate the cave, setting a rope and hook on the crest of the icy hill before sliding down. He had his lightsaber out for light and warmth, saving the glowsticks in his supplies for later.

His shoulders relaxed; the tension fading away as the soothing singing of thousands of kybers calmed Kylo. He shuddered. The last time he felt this way was ten years ago when he created his first lightsaber.

Suddenly he was irritated with Rey for dragging him here and digging up memories he often wished he could forget.

He found her, still asleep, mouth blue. Without hesitation, he rushed to her side, feeling her pulse. Very slow. She was freezing to death.

“Rey, wake up,” he muttered, using the Force to bring the rest of his supplies over the creek. He hauled her into his arms, trying to share his body heat with her. He grabbed the heating unit and set it next to them. He switched out her damp outerwear, resisting the temptation to remove her grey robes. Her leggings were still damp though, and that would not do. He stripped them off of her, hands brushing her thighs and the undercurve of her butt. Her upper wraps and tunic were fine, as was her lovely hair. 

His tunic was open, his thin knit sweater underneath the only protection he had left. Pushing her against his chest, he wrapped them both in a cocoon of blankets and settled in front of the heating unit. He could feel the slow rise and fall of her chest, her breasts pressing into his pecs. Their gentle swell sent his thoughts to uncomfortable places; how his gloved hand would look upon grasping her freckled flesh and pinching a pebbled nipple between his thumb and his forefinger.

Even as she warmed up and he checked her increased pulse, her lips were still blue and she was still asleep. He panicked before a wicked thought excited him. Curiosity took over. Her small, supple mouth was parted. Begging for warmth, for the pink of her lips to return.

He shook her, just enough. "Rey, wake up."

Kylo heard no changes in her breathing. She slept like a baby in his arms. She pulled him closer, arms around his torso, and she rubbed her nose into his neck. Still dead asleep, her body adjusted to his.Her biological instincts were latching onto the heat source of him. Nothing more.

"Rey, please wake up," he said, nuzzling her neck, her shoulder, her hair. The Force was humming, sensing his sensitivity. Kylo pulled upon it, letting his Force signature seep into her mind.

Her eyes opened. He tried to say something but her lips were so blue and dry nothing came out.

Still in a daze, she blinked at him.

"Don't be alarmed," he whispered before tilting his head downwards and pressing his mouth to hers.

She tensed up, frozen on the spot at his chaste kiss. He didn't move his mouth, intent on just warming her and not invading with his tongue. 

Confusion and helplessness flooded the bond before resignation took over. A hint of dissatisfaction echoed in her loud thoughts.

_ If you're going to kiss me, then actually kiss me. _

It  _ would _ be easier to warm her lips if he was allowed to do what he pleased. He moved against her mouth, still clutching her to his person. She parted her lips wider, which he took as an invitation to take her lower lip into his mouth. A soft, feminine moan vibrated in her supple throat. His tongue graced her lips in slow, light caresses. Teasing her.  _ Coaxing _ her into desiring more. And he wanted her to  _ want. _

Her lips were dry but no longer suffering from biting cold. He kissed her more, finding he liked this. Liked how he was taking and she was so giving and pliant. A gasp escaped her throat as his tongue brushed hers and he couldn't help but push forward in an unrelenting assault upon her mouth. Rey then pushed  _ back _ , clutching at his back and grinding her hips against his thigh. Her strength regained and fire in her blood reinvigorated. She gave as good as she got. That caught him off guard. The heat shared between them enabled arousal, and before Kylo knew it he was hard, still applying kisses to her lips before teasing down her neck.

_ Fuck _ , her leggings were gone due to his earlier actions, leaving her soft mound only covered by thin underwear and it was  _ soaked. _ His thigh was damp from her grinding.  _ So this is what it has come to. _ Despite everything, the pitiful loathing and bitterness between them, their bodies betrayed their want. Kylo wanted more. And Rey wanted  _ more. _

Then Rey yanked herself away, her face flushed and her lips kiss swollen and her breathing ragged, just like his.

"Um," her voice was hoarse. "Thank you for saving me."

Of course. Kylo was deluding himself. She didn't want him. She made that clear. He had also crossed the boundaries, and no doubt she heard some of his more intrusive thoughts.

"You're," he cleared his throat. "You're welcome."

He untangled himself from her and handed her an extra First Order winter uniform to put on over her wraps. He took in an eye-full of her bare thighs as she pulled the pants up, catching a glimpse of her underwear covering her mound. The cold killed his hard-on, to his blessing, and Rey hadn't noticed his gawking. He took a glow stick and looked around the cave at the kyber crystals embedded into the walls.

Rey packed up her supplies on her pack. “Why are you following me?”

Kylo glanced back at her. “Because getting a kyber can be dangerous.”

“I can handle myself.”

“I know.”

Any further protest died on her still kiss-stung lips. He gestured down the cave for her to lead the way, and she did, more cautious of her feet to avoid slipping into any sudden water flow.

_ Why is he being over-protective… _

Rey’s thoughts were like a clear broadcast over comlinks, vivid and with full clarity. No room to mistake her unspoken words. It was perhaps the most irritating yet wonderful thing ever. 

His only point of comparison was before when he had Snoke inside his head for years. Trading one person’s voice for another. Kylo supposed it could be worse, having Rey inside his head.

_ I can hear you, you know. _

_ So, you can answer my question. Why are you being so protective of me? _

Rey halted in her footsteps, awaiting an answer.

Kylo looked back at her. “I thought the answer was obvious enough to you.”

She rubbed her hands together. “Can you spell it out the way you did, on that dreadnought?”

He let out a frustrated sigh, proceeding forward. “I did it so you would let go.”

“But have you?” Rey asked, her voice sincere. “Have  _ you _ let go, Ben?”

Kylo felt a chill seep into his bones. No answer to give.

So he continued forth through the cavern. “You’ll feel your kyber call out to you once you’re close enough.”

The immeasurable disappointment radiated off of her.

* * *

Rey felt Kylo’s stare burn the back of her head as she explored further into the cavern. 

True to his word, something was calling for her. It echoed  _ Rey, Rey, Rey _ in a velvet whisper. It was  _ his _ voice. A reminder of what once happened in a hut in a rainstorm.

Rey’s steps got faster. Kylo didn’t seem to be putting forth extra effort to keep up, his warm presence getting further away. Soon she was reaching out with her hands, taking the fingerless gloves off and wanting to feel. Touch. Nothing between her and the kybers refracting the light of the glowsticks.

At the end of the tunnel, she came upon a pool of water, the top layer covered in frosted ice. The bottom was blacked out, endless.

“I’ll leave you here,” Kylo said, his voice gentle, setting down the kit and taking a seat on the floor.

Rey blew a stray strand of hair out of her face, her heart tightening at how almost nothing would change. He trusted in her abilities to let her see through this test herself.

She got on her knees and pressed her hand to the iced-over surface.

The whole planet was a hurricane of wind and thick snowfall. Everywhere around her was the Force. Only the Force. 

The darkness below beckoned again, just like it did on Ahch-To. She wanted to reject it; the annoying, panicked voice of Luke Skywalker piercing her conscience. But Rey shoved it aside, now recognizing when the dark side gave her the answer she sought even if it wasn’t the one she wanted.

And what  _ did _ she want now?

_ Passion. _

But she also wanted peace.

Why couldn’t there be both? Why couldn’t she use both?

Strong arms around her, caressing her breasts, searing lips that devoured hers, her sex teased by thick fingers.

A lack of burdens to lie about frequently.

_ Perfect little Jedi. _

Laughter among friends with shared smiles in the mid-light of day.

There was passion, but also peace. To fight for what she wanted, whether to protect or gain.

When Rey opened her eyes once more, the ice had melted away, her hand in the bitter cold pool of water underneath. In her grasp was a kyber crystal, glowing violet.

She glanced at Kylo, who was only in awe, an expression she became familiar with.

Her cheeks burned and her lips felt the ghost of the sensation of his mouth on hers.

Standing upright, she began to march out of the cave, not sparing him another glance.

Too bad he couldn’t keep his hands off of her, grabbing her wrist and arm and hip every time it looked like she was going to traverse some rough icy terrain. 

At the top of the cave after a good amount of effort to climb back up, Kylo looked at her, opening his mouth several times but closing it before anything could be said.

She had kissed his red lips and yet it just made it harder to walk away, the desire for more taking up room in her mind.

It hurt.

A crack tore open above his head, and she cried out, hand up before he could even realize.

“Ben!”

She shoved him away, on the ground, as icicles rained down where he once stood. Lingering adrenaline of fear rushed in her veins. It was just pure instinct to protect him.

Kylo looked up, in awe at her display of power.

“Thank you, for saving my life,” he said.

She lowered her hand, afraid to help him back up in fear of not having control of herself. “You’re welcome.”

Rey turned on her heel, marching to her X-wing to leave as soon as she could.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Behold...
> 
> The smut.
> 
> And Kylo's nonsense involving a tracker.

Kylo was determined that Rey was able to leave the planet in one piece, even though she ran off after saving his life. Rey bristled at every time he made sure she wasn’t going to trip her way out of the cave or fall into ice or a ravine or a river. Her stubbornness was certainly going to get her killed.

That was going to eat away at him, even as he returned to the  _ Finalizer _ and his Knights of Ren had nothing to report beyond General Hux and General Pryde both arguing over the best course of action and probably plotting a secret coup. Kylo leaned on his hand on his newly constructed throne watching them have their independent reports.

His mind flitted away to other possible scenarios Rey could end up in. Captured by the Hutts—he shuddered thinking of that one—dying of dehydration on a desert planet, forced into being an escort, going back to another iced-over planet and freezing again…

Kylo told himself he wanted to keep an eye out on Resistance activity, knowing that Rey would be with them. He continued to tell himself that as he asked for a craftsman to visit him in private.

The options presented to him by the jeweler forced certain intrusive images at the forefront of Kylo’s mind. Rey, wearing black silk tight around her body, highlighting the swell of her breasts and her filled out curves.

Black would be too auspicious for her, not until she was his (a long-off forgotten dream, crushed to lightsaber pieces), so he went with something else that would still stand out but not be inherently connected to him.

_ People should always look at her, _ he thought.

* * *

The  _ Millennium Falcon _ , already at light-speed, was eerily quiet.

Rey rubbed the blood from a cut on her cheek. Perhaps following Dameron’s plans wasn’t exactly the best idea. He was smart, but also reckless on the fly, despite meaning well for everyone who answered to him.

It was the absolute bloody last time she would listen to him during a caravan raid.

She sat down from the ‘fresher, tending to her scratches and cuts. A wave of anxiety hit her like a blaster, her stomach churning. Why was she so nervous? She was used to feeling Kylo whenever the bond opened—and it opened so frequently to her dismay, just to remind her of his kiss while she was freezing to death. How it made between her legs wet, how she craved, for just one moment, his body of thick muscle and strong arms and thighs and…

The bond was open and she nearly jumped in her spot on the captain's bed.

Kylo regarded her with a tilt of his head.

"You're hurt."

She huffed. "Yes. Thanks for the observation. It was your soldiers who did this."

The jab to draw out the guilt seemed to work. She felt it, even if he remained stoic. A tiny, teeny twitch of his eye was enough for her satisfaction.

"Here," he presented a small black box. "Take it. It's yours."

Rey raised an eyebrow and took the polished box. She had never seen any material like it. It seemed to be made by a steady hand and not by machine. She opened it by the latch and her eyes widened.

A silver comb with deep blue jewels arranged to look like a butterfly sat in black velvet lining of the box. She had never seen anything so beautiful in her life; never  _ owned _ anything so beautiful.

"Ben…" She looked up and the bond had already closed. With a disappointed sigh (though she didn't want to admit she was disappointed), he was gone as quickly as he had appeared. She picked up the comb and inspected it. The jewels glimmered in the low lighting of the cabin. The silver was polished just like the rest of the piece. How much went into this? The cut and the lack of wear to the comb indicated it was very new in age.

Had he actually made this for her?

And for what reason?

She inspected it more before frowning. Probably trying to pull a fast one on her and use something so sparkly and pretty to trick her into revealing the location of the new Resistance base, she thought. Since the Force decided to not-so eloquently slam the door, she couldn't give it back.

A part of her didn't want to. It was the only gift she ever was given in her life.

Stuck with a tracking device on her hands, she placed it back in the box and went to the cockpit where Chewie was taking a light snooze with a porg on his hairy head.

"Chewie?" Rey's voice shook him awake. "Are we heading back to the Resistance?"

Chewie yawned out a response.

"A cargo pickup?"

Chewie nodded, explaining it was Leia who requested the supply run.

"Ah, I see. Good. Enjoy your nap then."

The porg shifted in Chewie's hair onto its side.

It was by a stroke of luck that Kylo handed her the tracking comb while she was in the Falcon.

She walked back to the cabin and took out the comb again, analyzing its beauty and searching for the tracker. It was hidden, deep between the set jewels. She huffed and reached for her long-distance comlink.

If he was going to track her location, then she would just have to mess with the location.

She opened the connection to Leia. It was fuzzy but still clear enough to hear.

_ “Rey?”  _ Leia spoke with underlying concern. It gave Rey the briefest impressions of having a mother who fretted over her. One of the few things Rey initially resented Kylo for having.

“General Leia, there’s a small problem.”

_ “Yes, I heard Poe’s calls were not correct—” _

“I mean yes, but a different, more…” Rey’s cheeks heated. This was slightly embarrassing to admit to Leia of all people. “Private problem.”

_ “Go on.” _

_ “I’m being tracked by the First Order. I cannot go back to the base.” _

_ “Tracked by the First Order’s generals or tracked by the Supreme Leader?” _

What a very loaded question. Leia certainly knew how her son thought. Rey swallowed her pride for a moment. “The Supreme Leader.”

_ “Do you feel unsafe?” _

“I fear for the Resistance’s safety more than anything, Leia.”

Wasn’t that all he cared about? Ending the Resistance? Finish what he could not on Crait? Rey wasn’t oblivious to his desires to end everything his mother stood for and take Rey for his own.

_ “Tell Chewie after the supply depot to take you to a planet in the Inner Rim, right in the First Order’s territory.” _

“Is that wise? After what Poe advised in terms of their reach…”

_ “If the Supreme Leader wants to track you, then he’ll have to go through a bunch of bantha-spit to find you.” _

Rey got a little bit of amusement out of that. Make him work for it. Place herself in the most inconvenient place possible.

“What planet, Leia?”

* * *

Landing on Naboo, taking up residence in Varykino, Rey spent her time in the ‘fresher trying to figure out where exactly to pin the comb in her hair. She had never done anything like this of the sort, being stuck on an endless waste of a desert leaving no room to worry about appearances or beauty. She had to use a datapad and advice from Leia on Alderaanian braid traditions to get the style she wanted. 

Half her hair was up in a braided bun on her head, the rest flowing down her back. At the juncture of her bun to the top of her head, she slid the comb into her tresses, thankful for the few pins keeping the style in place to support the bejeweled piece. 

She wasn't wearing it for Kylo, she told herself. Or, not for his pleasure. Just to ruffle his feathers whenever he activated the tracker.

The Supreme Leader would have to go through a lot of bureaucratic nonsense to get to her.

The estate, Rey found, had a bunch of old care-takers who came in once a week to sweep the place and prevent the flora from overgrowing on the walls and columns. One old woman said she had been waiting for any of once-Queen Amidala’s relatives to come to claim the estate from disuse.

Rey related in a small way, waiting for someone who was most likely not going to come. 

Leia gave her the necessary credentials to gain access to what the estate had to offer.

She slipped out of the ‘fresher with the hairpin snug in her braided bun. She still wore the wraps on her arms and the grey robes she came in, a sign she was not royalty by any means. The room she was in was massive. The bed was big enough to fit five people, covered in silk sheets and a floral patterned duvet embroidered in gold thread. Too used to a cramped space, whether it was the AT-AT’s hammock, the Falcon’s cozy space, her tiny bunk on the Resistance Base, Rey began searching the room for the most compact spot to lay some blanks and pillows on the floor to sleep. 

A knock at the door paused her in her search.

“Miss? A man named Finn is here along with a Wookiee. He says he’s here to check on you on behalf of Leia Organa.”

Rey sighed in relief. “You can let him in.”

Before the old woman could even back away, Finn entered and embraced his best friend immediately. 

“Are you okay? Are you hurt? Leia told me as soon as Chewie came back and I demanded he bring me here, why are you here, Rey? You’re in First Order territory!”

Rey pulled back from the embrace, her hand on his arm. She offered him a small smile. “Finn, you shouldn’t be here. They’ll capture you.”

“They’ll capture  _ you!” _

Well, he wasn’t quite  _ wrong _ . But it was so messy and complicated and she got a flicker of irritation at the Supreme Leader and the Force-bond and herself. “This is the only way to protect you.”

“The bounty hunters will find you.”

“I’m perfectly isolated here. No one else knows except you and Leia and Chewie that I am here.” Rey took a step back. “Please go back to the base before they find you.”

“Who is ‘they,’ Rey?” Finn asked. “Ren?”

On instinct, she brushed her hand over the comb in her hair. “Yes. But I will be fine. He can’t break me. You have to trust me.”

Finn nodded. “If you’re sure.”

“I am very sure. I might even get a few credits out of it,” Rey said, with a half-hearted tone. “Thank you for checking on me.”

Finn looked conflicted as if he was going to fight it but he restrained himself. “Of course, Rey.” 

Rey reached for his hands. “Tell Leia the plan is in place.”

“Will do.”

“And whatever you do, don’t tell Poe.”

Finn laughed. “Right.”

* * *

Kylo tore his lightsaber through the wall.

The tracker was particular. Rey was moving at lightspeed when he activated it, causing the signal to struggle to report back. Then it slowed on a rust-bucket planet in the Outer Rim. Rey stayed there for a few hours. She had to have been doing something with the Resistance.

Kylo was content to leave it alone but then the tracker said she was in space once again. A part of him wondered if she was getting rid of it. He wouldn’t be surprised if she discovered its purpose.

First, she went to the planet of Chandrila, which raised his hackles. Of all planets to go to! Then, she took a shuttle to Naboo. And now her location was Varykino, at the old Naberrie estate that belonged to his grandmother.

Rey just  _ had _ to go there of all places. She was doing this intentionally; he was certain.

Rey was in the most strategic place possible (his mother had her name written all over this) and she would be safe from recklessness. He didn’t need to frequently check the tracker, but he did anyway. 

Kylo stomped out of the training rooms, dismissing Lieutenant Mitaka and telling his Knights to watch Hux. Locking himself up in his quarters, he paced, checking the stupid tracker every five seconds.

The bond opened and she wasn’t wearing it, much to his disappointment.

Instead, Rey was naked, a towel wrapped around her lithe body. Her hair dripped down her back, loose and wavy. Freckles smattered over her bare shoulders.

It was very hot in his cool, sterile black quarters all of a sudden. Thoughts of that kiss back in that frozen cave rushed to the forefront of his mind, playing on repeat.

Rey’s lovely face was flushed, the redness spreading down her bare neck to her barely covered chest. 

“I don’t want to talk right now,” Rey said, shrinking back to hide her body.

Kylo’s feet were glued to the spot. He wanted to tug that towel off of her body, take in her small breasts, run his gloved fingers over her supple flesh. 

He swallowed, trying to wrest away his damned lust for her.

“Then when do we talk?” He took a step forward, focusing on her eyes and not her bare skin or how easy it would be to haul her into his arms and rip the thin covering away.

Rey looked up, not backing away. The fire in her eyes gave away to underlying mischief. “You know where I am, Ben. I refuse to discuss this when the Force interrupts us too often.”

The Force was right on cue.

Rey, with her nakedness, was gone.

Kylo’s eye twitched as he clenched his fist. Naboo.

He would have to go through the queen. It would be a massive affair to have the Supreme Leader arrive on Naboo. All the negotiations involved. A treaty. The works.

He could see the gleam in his mother’s eyes as she concocted her little plan.

* * *

Rey waited a full week. 

The Force-bond opened on occasion. Once while Kylo was naked in the ‘fresher, his back to her. If he had noticed her presence, he didn’t show it. 

Her face remained on fire for the rest of the day, thinking about his rippling back muscles and toned thighs and calves.

For the time being, she put together her lightsaber staff. The kyber crystal hummed as she picked it up and placed it inside the power chamber. She went outside and took in the fresh air, igniting the staff.

Beams of violet extended out from both ends. She gave it a few test twirls, a smile playing on her lips. Forged from scrap metal and a kyber that glowed neither serene blue nor violent red, Rey had her own lightsaber.

She kept it by her bedside.

One night she fell asleep reading. The holonet was going on and on about the Supreme Leader arriving on Naboo unexpectedly and forging an agreement with the Queen, so she shut it off and turned to one of the old dusty Jedi tomes she took from Ahch-To.

Too bad it was such a dull read that she was bored to sleep.

Footsteps in her quarters activated her raw instincts. Her eyes snapped open and she reached for her staff, activating it in the dimmed light.

Red met her violet.

“Rey,” a tired, irritated voice cut through the darkness.

_ If you honestly think I would try to kill you in your sleep… _

She sat up, lowering her guard. “You could have knocked.”

“Like our bond ever does,” he said, scoffing.

“Have fun trying to get here?” Rey said, not even trying to conceal her amusement.

“My mother’s fingerprints are all over this. You know nothing of what this place means.”

“It belonged to your grandmother. This is where your grandparents married.”

She got off her bed and took a step closer to him, reaching up to adjust her rumpled locks and realigning the hairpin in the crest of her singular bun. 

Ben looked tired. He always did, but the shallowness of his bagged eyes was more prominent in the dim lighting. His hair looked curled. Keeping up appearances for the First Order. His cape clung to his broad shoulders, making him appear even more massive than usual. 

“You’re wearing it. Why?” he asked.

Rey scoffed. “Because…” 

It’s not like she  _ appreciated _ it or anything. It was just to irritate him.

“Doesn’t matter,” she answered. “You were trying to track my location back to the Resistance. I’m no fool, Kylo Ren.”

She expected him to look guilty, and he did, those expressive eyes of his never lying, but damn it, all it reminded her was the hut on Ahch-To.

“So why did you think this would work?” Rey continued. “I feel more insulted that you would use me this way.”

He took a step closer, his lightsaber tossed aside. “I wasn’t trying to use you.”

“Then why?”

“Because…” His voice died on his lips. 

Rey knew him far, far too well. He couldn’t lie to her. He could spew lies to everyone. His Knights. His generals. His parents. But not to her.

“I wanted you to be safe,” he finally said, forcing the words out as if they would burn his tongue. “After what happened in the cave I just… I had to make sure you weren’t off getting yourself into more life-threatening situations.”

With a tentative, shaking hand, Kylo reached up to brush a stray hair aside. “Why are you wearing it, if you knew there was a tracker?”

Warmth flooded her cheeks. “Because it was the only gift anyone has ever given me,” she breathed out, averting her eyes down to the floor to conceal her embarrassment.

Because at the end of the day, she still cared. She never stopped caring. And he too, never did.

He reached up to her bun, plucking the comb out, and he reached underneath one of the jewels and popped it out with some effort. The chip fell out into his palm.

“I don’t want to keep this up anymore. It’s yours, wherever you go,” Kylo said. “Just promise me you won’t throw yourself into danger anymore.”

She grabbed the chip and the comb from his hands, setting it down on the bedside stand before turning back to him, hands on her hips. “If you answer one question for me.”

“Anything.”

“Do you regret saving me in that cave?”

He let out a hollow laugh. “My only regret was taking advantage of you in that state.” Kylo took a step closer to her, backing her into the bed. “Despite how much I should hate you, despite how much you should hate me, despite how we are…”

“Enemies?”

“Yes.”

His face was very close to hers now. His body should be touching hers, but it wasn’t, and that was a crime in her opinion.

“I can’t stop feeling this way, Rey.”

She grabbed him by the collar, kissing his mouth like she was dying of thirst. She wanted him; everything he had to give her. All he had and it was him. Her Ben.

Even if it wasn’t to last more than a night, she would take what she could get. This passion, this… Feeling. This worry, bleeding over into something much stronger.

His arms came up to wrap around her. He hugged her as Rey kissed him and kissed him, raking her fingers through his silky curls. She ground her core against his front, feeling his hardening arousal.

Ben pushed forward, his fingers dancing down her back to her thighs and lifting her onto the bed. He kissed back, slipping in little strokes of his tongue over her parted lips. She melted into the touch, letting out a low moan from her throat. She was wet, so very wet. The way he caressed her bare thighs underneath her dress with those gloves of his made her skin tingle and her spine shudder with pleasure.

She pulled back from the kiss, going to his collar. She had seen his pale, well-built chest once before, and she wanted to see it again. “I want you, Ben.”

He reached for her wrist, pulling it up to press a kiss to her skin and her heart fluttered. “I am always yours.”

His cape was unclipped, falling to the floor. Then his tunic fell, followed by his sweater. Rey traced the scar she left embedded into his skin.

“I should thank you for that,” he remarked, looking at her with humor in his eyes. “The scar makes me look more intimidating.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course they find it intimidating. Not me though. It just… It kinda looks sexy.”

He laughed, and for a moment it felt normal. Like their relationship was normal. That Rey was looking at Ben Solo’s real nature.

“Now shut up and kiss me,” she said, leaning forward to trace her lips down the path of his scar. Her mark. A twinge of guilt pooled in her stomach. She hurt him in many ways. But she couldn’t dwell on it, not when he seemed so eager to forgive in his own words.

Ben pushed her back down onto the bed. Pinned beneath him, she took the time to explore his bare skin with her hands, mapping out every vein, every mark, every scar for future reference. He groaned, reaching up to her hair and tugging it free from the bun before returning to devour her mouth. His pleasure was bleeding into her own, even as he gave a shallow thrust between her thighs.

He reached for the strings on her dress and undid the bow, the straps releasing her shoulders. She sighed as the dress fell loose, her breasts bared to the cool night’s air. Without warning, he bent down and took her hardened nipple into his mouth, lapping and sucking it until it was red and glistening. Rey let out a gasp, arching her back and her hips further into his. To her joy, he switched to the other one and gave it the same treatment, still tweaking her other breast between his fingers.

Before long she was entirely naked, her dress on the floor next to his cape. His sinful tongue lapped at her cilt in slow, smooth circles that forced a whine and a keen from her lips. She clutched at his hair, trying not to buck her hips and failing miserably. His hands gripped her thighs, keeping them apart so he could get better access to her soaked cunt.

“Easy,” he muttered against her lower lips. “You’re so eager.”

She clutched his hair harder. “Cocky bastard.”

“Comes with being a Solo, sweetheart.”

For her retort, he took a suck of her cilt and she screamed, shuddering and writhing in her orgasm. Pulling away, he licked his glistening lips, eyes trailing down her body. She must look like a shipwreck with her abused nipples, reddened lips, messy hair, and her inner thighs coated in spit and her release.

With a couple of kisses to her skin, Ben crawled back up Rey’s body and kissed her on the forehead before returning to her lips. She clutched at his pecs, feeling the muscle twitch beneath her fingers. His hardened cock was still trapped in the confines of his pants, brushing against her sensitized core.

“You taste so good,” he moaned against her mouth between kisses. “I’ve been wanting to feast upon you since I saw you naked with only a flimsy towel.” He trailed his lips down her neck to her shoulder, pressing light kisses upon each freckle he could find. 

“Ben, I am dying here,” she said, squirming and reaching for his pants. “Please.”

He obeyed, to her relief, his thick cock hanging heavy, right between her wet folds. With a sly grin, he latched onto her neck and left a love-bite near her pulse-point. So dirty of him.

“If I’m sending you back to the Resistance, all safe and sound, I want to make sure my territory is marked,” he said.

She didn’t let the fact his dick was right there at her cunt distract her. “Oh really?” She leaned up and left a love-bite of her own on his upper neck, near his ears. “Guess you have to wear only high-collared outfits for a while,” Rey smirked.

“I would proudly wear any mark you give me.”

Urged on, she left more marks on his skin, down his neck to his chest. He shuddered above her, a win in Rey’s book. She laid herself out. “Now take me already, Ben.”

He grabbed her wiggling hips, trying not to groan at her cunt’s slide against his cock. “Fuck, you’re going to kill me.”

“Because I run off into life-threatening situations?”

He kissed her nose while whispering, “Brat.”

He sank into her, the stretch glorious and burning and too much yet not enough, all at once. Rey sighed as Ben bottomed out, hip to hip. She wiggled, trying to get him to move, but he just stayed still, looking at her as if he was in control, which she knew he wasn’t. He was teasing.

_ Don’t move don’t move… _

She rolled her eyes and began fucking herself upwards, squeezing her cunt to get him to lose control. It worked. Ben grabbed her hips and began thrusting at an even pace, the head of his cock sliding against her most sensitive of spots. She was lost in ecstasy, passion swirling around them, bleeding into each other’s thoughts and nerves and each touch. 

_ So good, so good… _

_ Too damn tight, fuck… _

He pounded into her, skin slapping skin. He dipped down several times to kiss her; short pecks that teased deeper kisses. He groped at her breasts while she clutched his ass, pushing him farther inside her cunt.

With a loud groan, he spilled inside her, working himself through his release with a few more thrusts before stilling, trying to catch his breath. Without a word, he reached down to her bundle of nerves and gently rubbed her to a smaller orgasm than the one from eating her out. He removed himself from her, his hot cum dripping out over her skin.

Rey felt her eyes droop, her body thoroughly fucked and content. Ben was struggling to keep himself above her to avoid crushing her, but she was not having any of it. His body against hers in the cave haunted her still. The warmth and the security invasive in her thoughts until this moment. She reached up to his neck and tugged him down to rest on top of her, like a heavy blanket. He grabbed the sheets and pulled them over, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek before her lips and her temple.

“I promise not to get into life-threatening situations again if I can help it,” she said with a sigh.

He chuckled, nibbling at her ear. “I can’t stop you from doing what you want.”

“You’re dead-right, Ben.”

Rey smiled, content, even if it was just for one night. She snuck one more kiss before falling asleep in his arms.

* * *

“Rey?” Poe’s voice snapped her out of her concentration on fixing BB-8’s mini torch. “Where did you get the fancy hairpiece?”

A faint blush dusted her freckles, and she had to contain a smile, lest she freak Poe out. “I found it.”

She absolutely did not care that the silver-lined blue butterfly comb stood in stark contrast to her rugged grey Jedi robes.


End file.
